Thill-coupling.



No. 684,976. Patented Oct. 22, l90l. G. 6,. BRADLEY.

' THILL COUPLING.

(Application filed may 20, 1901.)

(No Model.)

CHRISTOPHER C. BRADLEY,

SATEs.

OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 684,976, dated October22, 1901.

Application filed May 20. 1901.

T0 on whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER O. BRAD- LEY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State ofNew York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Thin-Couplings,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a quick-shifting thill-coupling in which themovable jaw is connected by a downwardly-extending link with a spring,which exerts a constant pressure upon the movable jaw and which permitsthe latter to be released by pressing the spring upwardly.

The object of this invention is to produce a simple and efficientthillcoupling of this character which is easily manipulated.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of myimproved thill-coupling. Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof. Fig. 3 isa top plan viewthereof. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section in line 4 4,Fig. 1, with the thill-iron broken away. Figs. 5 and 6 are sideelevations showing slightlydifferent embodiments of my invention.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

A represents the front axle of a vehicle; B, the clip applied to thesame; 0, the lower fixed jaw of the thill-coupling, which is se cured tothe axle by this clip, and D the upper movable jaw, which is pivoted atits rear end to the fixed jaw, as shown, or. arranged in any othersuitable manner.

E represents the thill-iron, which is provided with a draft pin orknuckle e, of any suitable construction. The knuckle shown in thedrawings is spherical and surrounded by a spherical washer f, which isseated in the correspondingly-shaped bearing-surfaces of the jaws O andD.

G is a bent spring, which has a short upper arm 9 and a long lower armg, both arranged horizontally, or substantially so, and connected attheir rear ends by a curved portion 9 The upper short arm of the springis secured between the axle and the fixed jaw. The long arm 9 of thespring extends forwardly underneath the lower fixed jaw of the couplingand is connected with the upper movable jaw by a link II. The latterextends down wardly from the movable jaw to the lower SerislNo.60,9'75.(NomodeL) I is provided at its front end in front of the link H with acurved thumb-piecej.

In the construction represented in Fig. 5 the movable jaw D is pivotedat its front end to the'fixed jaw and the link H rests upon the freerear end of the movable jaw.

In the construction represented in Fig. (3 the movable jaw D is formedin one piece with the upper ends of the side bars of the link H and isnot attached to the fixed jaw.

By pressing upwardly against the thumbpiece the long arm of the springis raised and the movable jaw moved up to release the draft-knuckle.downward pressure upon the movable jaw and holds the latter tightly uponthe draftknuckle and the latter against the fixed jaw. The draft-knucklecan be readily released by a simple upward movement of the long arm ofthe spring.

My improved thill-coupling is Very simple in construction and can beproduced at com paratively small expense.

I claim as my invention- The combination with the fixed and movable jawsof a thill-coupling, of a bent spring having its upper arm secured andhaving its lower arm extending forwardly underneath the fixed jaw, and alink extending from the movable jaw down to the lower arm of the springand attached directly thereto, intermediate of the ends thereof, wherebythe free end of the lower arm of the spring extends forwardly beyond thelink and constitutes a thumb-piece for operating the link and saidmovable jaw and the spring operates as a lever for operating the linkand movable jaw, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 15th day of May, 1901.

CHRISTOPHER O. BRADLEY.

Witnesses:

O. S. BUNNELL, F. L. SCHARFF.

The spring exerts a constant-

